galenkia Posted April 14, 2022 Share Posted April 14, 2022 Been hammering through books recently, about three a week or so. Got lots of time to kill currently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maipenrai Posted April 14, 2022 Share Posted April 14, 2022 I just finished reading a book named "Munich" by Robert Harris, an author I have enjoyed before; for once, I actually saw the Netflix movie first but then spotted the novel in a used bookstore and hadn't realized that Harris was the author of the original story - here's a picture of the movie poster: I'm pleased to say that the movie does a good job of the book. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andycoll Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Keeping it local. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Bill the Bastard: The Story of Australia's Greatest War Horse by Roland Perry Overview: Bill was massive. He had power, intelligence, and unmatched courage. In performance and character he stood above all the other 200,000 Australian horses sent to the Middle East in the Great War. But as war horses go he had one serious problem. No one could ride him but one man - Major Michael Shanahan. Some even thought Bill took a sneering pleasure in watching would-be riders hit the dust. Bill the Bastard is the remarkable tale of a bond between a determined trooper and his stoic but cantankerous mount. They fought together. They depended on each other for their survival. And when the chips were down, Bill's heroic efforts and exceptional instincts in battle saved the lives of Shanahan and four of his men. By September 1918, "Bill the Bastard" was known by the entire Light Horse force, who used his name not as an insult, but as a term of endearment. Bill had become a legend, a symbol of the courage and unbreakable will of the Anzac mounted force. There was no other horse like Bill the Bastard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Another Corker from John Sandford - The Investigator by John Sandford (Letty Davenport #1) Overview: Letty Davenport, the brilliant and tenacious adopted daughter of Lucas Davenport, takes the investigative reins in the newest thriller from number one best-selling author John Sandford. By age 24, Letty Davenport has seen more action and uncovered more secrets than many law enforcement professionals. Now a recent Stanford grad with a master’s in economics, she’s restless and bored in a desk job for US Senator Colles. Letty’s ready to quit, but her skills have impressed Colles, and he offers her a carrot: feet-on-the-ground investigative work, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. Several oil companies in Texas have reported thefts of crude, Colles tells her. He isn’t so much concerned with the oil as he is with the money: Who is selling the oil, and what are they doing with the profits? Rumor has it that a fairly ugly militia group - led by a woman known only as Lorelai - might be involved. Colles wants to know if the money is going to them, and if so, what they’re planning. Letty is partnered with a DHS investigator, John Kaiser, and they head to Texas. When the case quickly turns deadly, they know they’re on the track of something bigger. Lorelai and her group have set in motion an explosive plan...and the clock is ticking down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Smooth Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 (edited) Just finished reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez' "Memories of My Melancholy Whores", about a 90 year old man who falls in love with a 14 year old prostitute at the local brothel in town. Not exactly what you might think, it was a very eloquently told story. Next up is a book I first read over a decade ago, "Post Office", by Charles Bukowski, maybe the single funniest novel I've ever read. As a retired postal worker of over 30 years, I could relate. Bukowski wrote this in 1971, while employed as a postal worker in Los Angeles, Calif and what he wrote back then about the idiocy of postal management, in many cases, was just as true for me 50 years later. And still funny as hell the second time as I had tears of laughter streaming down my face while reading the opening couple of chapters in bed. Edited April 16, 2022 by Mr. Smooth 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemondropkid Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Just started on my second ever James Ellroy, has started well. Just love his writing style, 720 pages but think it will rattle along🤞 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andycoll Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coxyhog Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 Brilliant book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieBob Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarus Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 (edited) Recently finished. Augustus Owsley Stanley III (January 19, 1935 – March 12, 2011) was an American audio engineer and clandestine chemist. He was a key figure in the San Francisco Bay Area hippie movement during the 1960s and played a pivotal role in the decade's counterculture. Under the professional name Bear, he was the soundman for the rock band the Grateful Dead, whom he met when Ken Kesey invited them to an Acid Test party. As their sound engineer, Stanley frequently recorded live tapes behind his mixing board and developed their Wall of Sound sound system, one of the largest mobile public address systems ever constructed. Stanley also helped Robert Thomas design the band's trademark skull logo.[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley Edited April 21, 2022 by lazarus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarus Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 something different A provocative and impressive debut delivered with a uniquely sinister lyricism by a brilliant 21-year-old; a story about sex, privilege, desire, and creativity in the post-college years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarus Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 also reading... Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization -- copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost -- they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galenkia Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Sitting over the park reading this on the Kindle. Tells the story of the 1897 Belgian expedition to the Antarctic. Fascinating story, and I love books about expeditions, mountaineering, human endurance etc. One of the crew was the soon to be famous Norwegian Roald Amundsen. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemondropkid Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 Started on this, my first by the author. Have to own up to giving up on James Ellroy's Perfidia, a pale shadow of American Tabloid. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atticus Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 6 hours ago, Lemondropkid said: Started on this, my first by the author. Have to own up to giving up on James Ellroy's Perfidia, a pale shadow of American Tabloid. Alan Furst books are brilliant if you like that genre of historical spy novels. The last one I remember reading was the Polish Officer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andycoll Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 14 hours ago, Lemondropkid said: Started on this, my first by the author. Have to own up to giving up on James Ellroy's Perfidia, a pale shadow of American Tabloid. One of my favorite authors. If you can get your hands on it 'Night Soldiers' is very good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemondropkid Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 8 hours ago, Atticus said: Alan Furst books are brilliant if you like that genre of historical spy novels. The last one I remember reading was the Polish Officer. I enjoy Spy fiction, the Slough House series by Mick Heron is one of my current favourites. Also like historical fiction so this could be the genre for me🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemondropkid Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 58 minutes ago, andycoll said: One of my favorite authors. If you can get your hands on it 'Night Soldiers' is very good. Not available in my local library system so just splashed out £3.28 (143 baht🙂) for a good second hand copy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galenkia Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 2 hours ago, Lemondropkid said: I enjoy Spy fiction, the Slough House series by Mick Heron is one of my current favourites. Also like historical fiction so this could be the genre for me🙂 Think you like this guy IIRC?. Bought this for the Kindle the other day, it's on short term discount for 99p currently. Always pick up bargains when I see them. Got about forty books on the Kindle yet to read, mostly cost a quid or two. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemondropkid Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, galenkia said: Think you like this guy IIRC?. Bought this for the Kindle the other day, it's on short term discount for 99p currently. Always pick up bargains when I see them. Got about forty books on the Kindle yet to read, mostly cost a quid or two. Yes, huge fan of his. Shame he is no longer with us. Amazon really do seem to manipulate the price of books. Ordered for the first time this week from Abe Books ( I am buying physical books), one I picked up second hand book for £3, that Amazon wanted £9 for. I'm blessed though with an excellent library I joined recently and some briliant charity shops. Got to keep an eye out for the bargains!! Edited April 23, 2022 by Lemondropkid 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galenkia Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 3 minutes ago, Lemondropkid said: Yes, huge fan of his. Shame he is no longer with us. Amazon really do seem to manipulate the price of books. Ordered for the first time this week from Abe Books ( I am buying physical books), one I picked up second hand book for £3, that Amazon wanted £9 for. I'm blessed though with an excellent library I joined recently and some briliant charity shops. Got to keep an eye out for the bargains!! Used Abe myself In the past. Also use the library as well. Like the Kindle as it's light and easy to carry when travelling. According to my Kindle I have over 600 books read on there. Books, bikes and music, pretty much is my life. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maipenrai Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 2 hours ago, Lemondropkid said: Yes, huge fan of his. Shame he is no longer with us. Amazon really do seem to manipulate the price of books. Ordered for the first time this week from Abe Books ( I am buying physical books), one I picked up second hand book for £3, that Amazon wanted £9 for. I'm blessed though with an excellent library I joined recently and some briliant charity shops. Got to keep an eye out for the bargains!! I'm another big Kerr fan and have now read all of the "Bernie Gunther" books - have saved them for reading again sometime in the future; this book will probably be next. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieBob Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 I will open here and say I have been a 'naughty boy' - after spending heaps of money on books over the decades and then giving them away, I decided to switch to online downloads that cost nothing, and I read them using my wife's old iPad 1. I already have far too many - am going through Archer's books at the moment one by one (including re-reading several from many years ago). That will not change unless in the future items like Kindle become far more reasonable (under $50) and the costs per book do the same ($1 each) - us older 'retirees' need to save the pennies 🙂 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galenkia Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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